Order

Civil War Photos

Select Audiovisual Records at the National Archives

Engineers of the 8th New York State Militia in front of a tent, 1861. Ill-B-499. National Archives Identifier: 524918

The War Between the States was the first large and prolonged conflict recorded by photography. During the war, dozens of photographers, both as private individuals and as employees of the Confederate and Union Governments, photographed civilians and civilian activities; military personnel, equipment, and activities; and the locations and aftermaths of battles. Because wet-plate collodion negatives required from 5 to 20 seconds exposure, there are no action photographs of the war.

The name Mathew B. Brady is almost a synonym for Civil War photography. Although Brady himself actually may have taken only a few photographs of the war, he employed many of the other well-known photographers before and during the war. Alexander Gardner and James F. Gibson at different times managed Brady's Washington studio. Timothy O'Sullivan, James Gardner, and Egbert Guy Fox were also employed by Brady during the conflict.

The pictures listed in this publication are in the Still Picture Branch of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Most are part of the Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, Record Group 111, and Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, Record Group 165. The records include photographs from the Matthew B. Brady collection, purchased for $27,840 by the War Department in 1874 and 1875, photographs from the Quartermaster's Department of the Corps of Engineers, and photographs private citizens donated to the War Department. These collections were once part of the War Department Library and have been cataloged and published as "List of the Photographs and Photographic Negatives Relating to the War for the Union" (War Department Subject Catalogue No. 5, 1897; 219 p.), filmed as National Archives Microfilm Publication T251.

Photographs included in this leaflet have been listed under one of four main headings: activities, places, portraits, and Lincoln's assassination. Items in the first two parts are arranged under subheadings by date, with undated items at the end of each subheading. Photographs of artworks have also been included in the list. Any item not identified as an artwork is a photograph. Names of photographers or artists and dates of items have been given when available, and an index to photographers follows the list.

At the end of this leaflet, there are instructions for ordering photographs. Many photographs of the Civil War held by the National Archives are not listed in this leaflet. Separate inquiries about other Civil War photography should be as specific as possible listing names, places, events, and other details.

Sandra Nickles and Joe D. Thomas did the research, selection, and arrangement for this list and wrote these introductory remarks.

Morale

39. " Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, Supported Gratuitously by the Citizens of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania." The picture includes a view of the outside and three small views of the inside. Lithograph by W. Boell, 1861. 15-M-40. National Archives Identifier: 512769

115. Soldiers in the trenches before battle, Petersburg, Va., 1865. 111-B-157. National Archives Identifier 524576.
(The Petersburg identification appearing in the official caption for this photograph received by NARA from the Army Signal Corps has been disputed. Civil War historians and photo-historians have uncovered documentary evidence suggesting that this image of Union forces was taken by Andrew J. Russell just before the Second Battle of Fredericksburg in the spring of 1863. For more information, please see the item in the National Archives Catalog.)